This invention relates to lawn mowers. In particular, the invention relates to a hover-type lawn mower including a cylindrical cutting unit.
There are two main types of lawn mowers currently in production, namely, (1) a hover-type lawn mower which, when operative, is supported by a cushion of air and includes a cutting blade which is rotatable about a vertical axis, and (2) a lawn mower having a cylindrical cutting unit which includes a plurality of blades and which, in operation, is rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis.
Our investigations have shown that there are a number of important features to be considered when producing a lawn mower and of these, ten features are set out in a table below in order of priority allotted by lawn mower users. Furthermore, against each feature in the table is an indication as to which type of mower (either the hover (H) or the conventional cylindrical cutting mower (C)) was, in the view of the users, superior to the other for each of the features.
______________________________________ 1. Easy/light to use H 2. Grass collection C 3. Quick job H 4. Close cut C 5. Wet grass H 6. Finish C 7. Long grass H 8. Cut up to edges/obstacles H 9. Produce stripes C 10. Cut banks/slopes H ______________________________________
From this investigations it is apparent that a hover-type rotary mower is thought to be the more flexible in operation. It is also apparent, however, that a mower with a cylindrical cutter is considered to produce a better visual finish to a mown lawn. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to produce a lawn mower which combines the functions, of a hover-type mower and of a mower with a cylindrical cutting unit and thereby produces a lawn mower offering great flexibility and lighteness or ease of operation as well as producing a good visual finish to a mown lawn.